Swansea City: 2023 recruit will surely be eyeing January exit | OneFootball

Nathan Tjoe-A-On's time at Swansea City hasn't gone to plan yet

After nearly a season-and-a-half at Swansea City, Nathan Tjoe-A-On looks no closer to breaking into the first-team on a regular basis after a tough start to life in English football.

The Dutch-born Indonesian international has played just three games for Swansea City, with just one of those coming in the league, a brief cameo appearance from the bench against Preston North End in August.

The 22-year-old signed for Swansea in the summer of 2023 after becoming a regular for Excelsior Rotterdam in the Eredivisie, but things just haven't clicked for him since making the move to South Wales.

With the January transfer window just around the corner, surely Tjoe-A-On will be eyeing a departure from SA1, whether that's on loan or on a permanent basis, having played just 142 minutes of club football since the 2023/24 campaign began.

A January exit for Nathan Tjoe-A-On makes sense for all parties

Whether it was poor business from Swansea in the first place or just unfortunate circumstances, Tjoe-A-On's signing has failed to live up to expectations, and if it wasn't for the club's regular social media posts attracting thousands of likes from Indonesian supporters, it would be easy to forget that he was still at the club.

After failing to make a single appearance for Swansea last season, he was loaned back to the Eredivisie in January, joining Heerenveen, but he made just four appearances, totalling just 15 minutes of football.

It meant he endured a nightmare first season as a Swansea player, and while he's already surpassed his tally of 15 minutes of club football last season with 125 minutes this year, it's still not enough.

He played 67 minutes and 58 minutes respectively in EFL Cup ties against Gillingham and Wycombe Wanderers, with a further two minutes against Preston, but he hasn't played a club game since August, and it doesn't look like he'll be adding to that tally anytime soon.

Despite Swansea's small squad and lack of depth, Tjoe-A-On has struggled to make the matchday squad at times, and when he is included he never looks like being called upon.

It's undoubtedly a frustrating situation for the 22-year-old, who is lucky he's a regular in the Indonesian squad, which has allowed him to continue getting minutes under his belt, but his current situation at club level needs to change.

With a year and half left on his deal, Swansea need to make a decision. Does Tjoe-A-On have any sort of long-term future at the club, or shall they cut their losses and sell him in January?

If Luke Williams thinks that he could become an important player in the future, then perhaps a League One loan would be suitable, but if they're looking to sell him, then obviously Swansea won't be too bothered about where they're selling him to.

Tjoe-A-On will know that he needs to leave Swansea in January, and it's a move that just hasn't gone to plan.

Tjoe-A-On had been a regular in the Eredivisie prior to his move to Swansea, and for a youngster to be playing regularly in a league like that, he clearly had something about him.

For a fee of £300k, it didn't look like bad business for Swansea, with Tjoe-A-On potentially being one for the future, but he hasn't been able to break into the side under Michael Duff or Williams.

Given his experience in the Eredivisie at a young age and his importance to the Indonesian national team, Tjoe-A-On clearly isn't a bad player, but things just haven't worked out in the Championship.

His lack of playing time, coupled with his place in Swansea's pecking order means that it certainly wouldn't be a surprise if he was moved on in January, and it could be the best solution for both parties.